According to Marca, 26-year-old Vinicius begins the new season having made the most appearances and scored the most goals for the team.

Vinicius has been one of the main talking points this summer. After months of speculation and hours of suspense before the match, Real Madrid announced on August 6 that they had extended the Brazilian forward’s contract until 2032. If the contract is fulfilled, the Rio player’s Real Madrid career will span 14 seasons.

This year marks Vinicius's eighth year in the Real Madrid locker room. During that time, he has witnessed the departures of club legends and accomplished players such as Sergio Ramos, Casemiro, Benzema, Kroos, Modric, Marcelo, Nacho, and Lucas Vázquez, with Dani Carvajal being the last to leave and bringing Real Madrid's six-time champions era to a complete end.

This almost completely revamped squad means Vinicius is the player with the most appearances for Real Madrid ahead of the upcoming season. Having just turned 26 on July 12, he will make his 376th appearance for Real Madrid at the RCDE Stadium, having accumulated 375 appearances and scored 127 goals so far.

In Mourinho’s team, Vinicius serves as the second captain, sharing leadership of the locker room with Federico Valverde and Thibaut Courtois. All three were promoted to the first team during the 2018 pre-season under then-coach Julen Lopetegui. Uruguayan Valverde is the first captain, Brazilian Vinicius the second, and Belgian Courtois the third. Of the three, Vinicius has made the most appearances, with 375 games, followed by Valverde with 372 and goalkeeper Courtois, from Bree, with 333.

Surpassing Di Stéfano

Vinicius, who has established himself as a leader over several seasons, will begin the new season under intense scrutiny. On the one hand, lingering issues remain from last season after Xabi Alonso took over; on the other, his third partnership with Mbappé must dispel all the doubts left over from the previous two seasons.

After a World Cup in which he performed well individually but the team struggled, Vinicius's challenge is to lead Real Madrid back to winning ways. He has scored at least 22 goals in each of the past five seasons: exactly 22 goals three times, 23 goals once, and a personal-best 24 goals in the 2023-24 season.

Among the Real Madrid legends Vinicius is expected to overtake this season, one name is sacred and inviolable: Alfredo Di Stéfano. His current tally of 375 appearances for Real Madrid is only 21 fewer than that of “the Blond Arrow”, a record he is expected to surpass before the end of the year at his usual pace.

In his eight seasons with Real Madrid, he has averaged 47 appearances per season. At this rate, by the time his contract expires in June 2032, his total number of appearances will reach 657. Only four players in Real Madrid history have made more appearances: Raúl (741 games), Casillas (725 games), Sanchís (710 games), and Sergio Ramos (671 games). Benzema ranks behind him with 648 games, while another number 9, Santillana, has 645 games.

In terms of goals, he averages 16 per season, and his current tally of 127 is also the highest at Real Madrid, while Mbappé has scored 86 goals in just two seasons. Based on the Brazilian player's current scoring efficiency, he will have scored 223 goals by 2032, ranking seventh in Real Madrid's history, still a long way behind Cristiano Ronaldo's 450 goals.

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